Machine for bending metal.



0.1. GROEHN.

MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.22. 1912.

Patented 001;. 19, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Wz'ness as [717/672 tay U'fad: Grue/117?,

c nnnn 131A PLANOGRAPH C0.. WASHINOTUN. D. c,

MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.22. 1912.

1,156,899. Patented 001.19, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

0.1. GROEHN.

MACHINE FOR BENDING METAL.

APPLICATION FILED 001.22. I9Iz.

1,156,899. Patented 001;. 19, 1915.

3 sIIEET-fsHEET 3.

A TTURNEV oTTo 1. GRoEHN, 0E DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AssIGNoa To :BRIscoE MANUFACTURING f COMPANY, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

MACHINE ron BENDING METAL.

Specification of Letters Patent. 'Patented Oct. 19, 1915. i

Appn'cation'mea october 22,1912. seriaiNo. 727,109.

To all 'whom may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO J. GRoEriN, a citizen of the United States of America, re siding at Detroit, in the county 0f Wayne and State of lWichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Bending Metal, of which the following isa specification, reference being had'therein means for controlling the bending, whereby continuous, changing or reverse curves may be formed as desired; and further in the peculiar construction, combination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth. In the drawings: Figure lis a top plan View of the machine. Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, showing the sheet metal blank as positioned in the rolls; and Fig. 4: is a vertical sectional view of the bending rolls and actuating means. l

In the manufacture of many articles of sheet metal-as for instance, vehicle mud guards and fendersit is necessary to provide flangesjwhich are curved in the plane of the sheet. Where such flanges or strips are fashioned by cutting froma sheet metal blank, there is necessarily a considerable waste of material, and furthermore difficulty is .experienced in subsequently searning or beading the curvededge's. With my improved machine such curved strips or flanges may be formed from straight sheet metal blanks, the desired con-l tour being imparted by a bending operation.

Alsofthe hooks or flanges preliminary toV seaming may be Vformed in the strip while in the straight, and are not distorted by thel j subsequent edge bending.

Generally described, `my machine comprises a series of pairs of guide rolls for engaging the reverseebent hooks or flanges on the ojg'p'osi'te edges of lthe sheet metal blank, one `of said pairs being laterally adjustable 1n the plane of the strip to effect the bend, and its movement being controlled byja cam or pattern, which determines the curve. The adjustablel vpair of rolls is swiveled to its carrier, permitting said rolls to con-formfto the varying curvature of the work which is also tangent thereto. -.In detail, A. is 'a suitableV frame upon which is mounted a longitudinal series of pairs of rolls B B C CgD'D. Each of these rolls is formed `with `a flaty disk portion I, and

, having aV rounded periphery and' an adjacentportion G offsmaller diameter.4 having a groovedperiphery, th fdiskportion of one roll ofthe pair fittingin to the'grooved portion of the other roll of the pair.- This conf struction is one adapted for the engagement of a sheet metalblank I-I, having on the opposite edges thereof the reverse-bent hooks or lying kbetween the curved: portions and rounded Yperipheral portions of the rolls, while the flatl portion of the blank H3 lies between the flat diskportions ofthe rolls. Thus when a strip isv fed between a pairof flanges I-I and I-I2, said return-bends Y such rolls, itsopposite edges/will be held from inward movement or buckling, even j where the strip issubjected to sufficient tension to draw the sheet metal. Y

I I are the rolls of the laterally-adjust'- able pair, which Jare similar in construction and relative arrangement yto the rolls B B C C etc. `These rolls I I are, however, mounted upon a head member J, whichr is centrally pivoted to a laterally-slidable head I' member K mounted in transverse guides-L upon the machine.

M M are roller bearings vupon opposite ends of vthe'head member K and which are engagedby complementary pattern-cams N and N mounted'on driven spindles O and O upon 'opposite sides of the machine.

` P is a stationary cam guide, .which engages'roller bearings@J Q upon opposite ends of the swiveled head'J, said cam P being sd fashioned las to turn the head J to the position indicated by the dotted lines J to maintain the tangency ofthe work to the rolls as thev head K is laterally adjusted to f adjustable rolls lf 1. The

the position indicated by the dotted lines K and K2 in Fig. 1. Y

All of the rolls of the several pairs are preferably driven by a suitable gear-train, indicated in dotted lines at R and R. rlhe rolls 1 and 1 on the adjustable heads are driven through the medium of a flexibly mounted, telescopic shaft S, which .does not interfere with the adjustment of the heads.

The spindles 0 O and cams N N thereon are driven by gear-wheels T and T and intermeshing pinions U and U', the gearing being so proportioned that the cams will complete a cycle when the longest length is fed completely through the machine.

1n operation, the strips H, which havel been previously 'formed with the opposite return-bent flanges H H2, are fed in between the pairs of rolls, and are advanced thereby until the forward edge engages with the pattern-cams N Nthen operate the laterally-slidable head K, and at the same time the stationary cam P, cooperating with the roller bearings Q, Q', will turn the swiveled head J. rlhis shifting of the rolls l l will cause the bending of the strip, and any buckling of the 'Y metal is prevented by reason of the fact that the reverse-bentanges H H2 are held from inward movement. The shape ofthe curve imparted to the strip is dependent upon the shape of the cams N. N and by suitably fashioning the latter any form desired may be readily obtained. Y

Y To adapt the machine for use with strips of varying width the rolls B B', etc., are exchangeable and one member of each pair ismounted in a laterally-adjustable bearing V, positioned bv an adjustable stop W. This permits of substituting rolls for wider or narrower strips where the character of the work is changed.

What 1 claim as my invention is:

l. A machine for bending `sheet metal strips in the plane of the main portion thereof, comprising a guide for engaging opposite edge portions of the rtrip to hold the same from relative inward movement, a second guide similarly formed and engaging the strip, means for feeding the strip through said guides, and coacting means for moving one of said guides laterally with respect to the other guide.

2. A machine for bending sheet metal strips in the plane of the main portion thereof comprising a pair of guides for engaging different longitudinal portions of the strip and holding the opposite edges thereof from relative inward movement, means for feeding the strip through said guides, and coacting means for laterally adjusting one of said guides. A

3. A machine for bending sheet metal strips,vcomprising means engaging the opposite edge portions of said strips for holding same from inward movement, means similarly engaging an advanced portion of said strip and laterally adjustable with respect to said first-mentioned means, and coacting means for simultaneously, longitudinally advancing the strip and for adjusting said laterally adjustable .edge-engaging means.

4. A machine for forming sheet metal strips, comprising` a guide for engaging the opposite edge portions of a straight strip, an advance guide similarly engaging the edge portion of the strip and laterally adjustable, means for advancing the strip through said guides, and coacting means for laterally adjusting said advance guide and for turning said guide to correspond to the bending of the strip.

5.A machine for bending sheet metal strips, comprising a guide for engaging a straight sheet metal strip, a pair of rolls engaging an advanced portion of said strip and holding the opposite edges thereof from relative movement, means for simultaneously advancing said strip through said guides and for laterally adjusting the advanced guide, and coacting means yfor turning the aXial plane of said rolls to maintain the tangent relation thereof to the portion of the work in engagement therewith.

6. A machine for bendingvv sheet metal strips in the plane of the main portion thereof, comprising a series of rolls for engaging and holding from relative inward movement opposite edge portions of the strip and for advancing the same, and means for laterally shifting one pair of said rolls to e'ect an edgewise bending of the strip.

7. A machine for bending sheet metal strips, comprising a series of pairs of adj acent disk rolls'for engaging opposite flanged edges of the strip and for holding said edges from relative inward movement, a laterallyadjustable head carrying one pair of said rolls, and a pattern-cam operating in timed relation to said rolls for laterally shifting said head.

8. A machine for bending sheet metal strips, comprising a series of pairs of rolls for engaging opposite flanged edges of the strip, a laterally-adjustable head upon which one pair of said rolls is mounted, a swiveled connection between said pair `of rolls and said head, permitting a change in angle of the aXialplane thereof, a pattern-cam for laterally shifting said headin timed relation to the advance of the strip between said rolls, and a coacting cam for turning the axial plane of said shifted rolls.

9. A machine for forming sheet metal comprising a series of pairs of rolls, each comprising overlapping disks spaced to correspond to the gagev of a sheet metal blank fed therebetween, and concentric laterallypairs of the series to effect the bending of projecting portions oneach of said disks the strip. j forming a rolling surface opposed to the pe- In testimony whereof I aix' my signature riphery of the overlapping disk for engaging in presence of tWo Witnesses.

5 a flanged portion of the sheet metal strip, OTTO J. GROEHN.

means for driving said disks to advance the Witnesses: strip, and means for shifting one pair of' JAMES P.. BARRY,y disks out of alinement with the remaining W. K. FORD.

Uopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, i

Washington, D. C. 

